Scientific Method
by Reluctant Dragon
Summary: A new twist to the old tale. Everything you ever thought you knew about how the Turtles came to be... was wrong. Now Complete! Finished Second in the Category !Best Drama! for the 2005 TMNT Fanfic Awards!
1. The Experiment

**Disclaimer: **I do not own the Turtles. The storyline, however, is totally mine.

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Don rubbed his eyes and let out a frusturated sigh. He had been running these DNA sequences for hours, and the result was _still_ the same. An impossible result. An improbable result. Yet one that was by all other definitions was correct.

Donatello's head hurt.

A sudden knock on his door brought him out of his musings.

"Don, dinner's ready. It's lasagna night!"

Don suddenly realized that he was starving. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.

"Be there in a sec."

He got up and stretched, his muscles complaining from being in one place for too long. Then he looked at his computer, noting that he had at least 10 minutes before his computer finished compiling the data for the latest of his re-trials. Surely it would prove something that the last five experiments hadn't. It had to.

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"Don, nice t' see you among the living again." Don was too tired and eyesore to spare more then a look at Raph. He grabbed a plate and loaded it up with Mikey's "Magnificent and Multi-Ingredient-ed Lasagna." Mikey always insisted on having names for his creations. The rest of them always just humored him- no one else could cook as well as Mikey, and the last time someone (Raph) had criticized how Mikey named food, he found himself eating cold, congealed anchovy pizza for a week. 

Don started shoveling the hot pasta dish into his mouth as soon as he sat down. He reached to grab a glass of milk, and found that his whole family, including Splinter, was staring at him. He swallowed, then spoke. "What?"

"Dude, I know my M.M.I.L. is good, but it might taste better if you breathed between each mouthful."

"Sorry. I'm in a hurry." He chugged half of the milk, then resumed inhaling the lasagna.

Raph rolled his eyes. "So what you inventin' this time, a better lightbulb?"

"No, I invented that last week." Don said absentmindedly through his mouthful of food.

Splinter shot a look at Raph. "Raphael, please refrain from using sarcasm against your brothers."

Chastised, Raph looked down so that Splinter couldn't see the annoyed look in Raph's eyes. "Sorry sensei."

Don chugged another glass of milk, then leaped up as he heard his computer beep. "Good food Mikey, thanks." Then he rushed off.

Michaelangelo stared after him. "Kinda like watching a car crash in slow-mo, wasn't it? You really wanna stop watching it, but you can't help it…"

"CRAP!" Don's yell reverberated through the lair.

Everyone fell silent. "Guess his experiment didn't work." Said Leo.

Don came storming out of his lab, a stack of paper under his arm. "It's STILL not coming out right- I'm going to April's. I'll be back later."

He grabbed his trench coat and fedora and tore out of the lair, letting the door slam behind him. His family looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces.

"Well… he seemed a mite preoccupied tonight, didn't he?" Commented Leo.

Raph snorted. "All I can say is that he has GOT to find some better excuses for seeing April." His comment was met with uncomfortable silence.

Mikey bravely broke the silence. "So, who wants seconds?"

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"Are you sure? It came out the same?" 

April O'Neil ran a hand through her unruly curls and looked away from her microscope. Her lab bench was littered with various scientific papers and paraphernalia, evidence of the experiments the two had been conducting since Donatello had arrived, two hours previously. "Don, we've run it four times. Add them to your other trials and _every_ _single_ _one_ of them is the same."

Don threw up his hands and leaned back in his chair. He tilted his head back and let out a huge breath. "But those results- they're impossible!"

April swiveled in her chair to look at him. "'When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth**.'"**

Don raised an eye-ridge at her. "And you're Sherlock Holmes-ing it because…"

She shrugged. "It fits the situation. One result like this could be a fluke- 10 identical results means that you've got your solution."

Don shook his head. "But…"

"Don, face it. You guys are still brothers, still family. You all may not be related genetically, but that doesn't mean anything. Pets stores don't usually keep families of turtles together, you know."

Don kept staring at the ceiling. April continued, a bit disconcerted by Don's silence.

"And you guys may not have a trace of the mutagen anywhere in your bodies, but I'm sure that there's a logical explanation. Maybe the mutagen was assimilated into your bodies after you guys... changed."

Don laced his fingers behind his head and stared at the ceiling. "No, I've done extensive research on TGRI- there's always a trace left in the host's body after the mutation is complete. It helps the body adjust and cope with the after-effects."

April crossed her arms and swung her chair around to look head on at Donatello. "If that's true, and if none of you four have the mutagen in your bodies, then _how_ _were you guys created?_"

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_Dun-dun-dun! This fic was inspired by my Bio class- We did a lab on DNA fingerprinting and it got me thinking.  
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_It's going to be a short fic- I think. I know that this chapter was a bit complicated, but it WILL be explained in the next chapter. Or the one after that. _

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. Tea at Dawn

_**Disclaimer**: They're not mine, never have been, never will be... sigh...  
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_Quick note- _(This means Japanese is being spoken.)

_And on we go!_

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It was almost dawn when Donatello returned to the lair. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it with a sigh, rubbing his eyes with exhaustion.

"You look troubled, my son."

Don jumped as Splinter's voice rang out in the silence. The humanoid rat was sitting in an armchair with a steaming cup of tea clutched in his claws. He was frowning.

"Master Splinter, w-what are you doing up?"

"Years of rising with the sun has left me with a habit that is hard to break." He took a sip of the hot beverage, whiskers twitching, before he continued. "Tell me, my son- why did you stay out all night? You missed your patrol, and your brothers could not reach you on your… _Shell Cell._"

Splinter was not fond of the mobile phones so aptly nicknamed by Michaelangelo. In the five minute span in which he had owned one, he had called a dance club, a piercing and tattoo parlor, and three porn lines in quick succession, all while trying to dial the local pizza parlor for dinner. He had not touched any of the phones since.

"Surely your experiments did not take all night?"

Don hung up his coat and hat. "I'm sorry sensei- I had to turn it off because it disrupted the equipment that we were using." He set the packet of papers he had under his arm on the back of the couch. " The experiments took longer then I had originally thought. I didn't mean to stay out all night, I just got carried away."

Splinter nodded. It was not unlike his second youngest son to get carried away in his work. Donatello continued. "You see, when I took everyone's blood samples last week, I had this hypothesis that the mutation process affected the viscosity of our blood and therefore… " He moved toward the kitchen, continuing to explain his experiment absentmindedly as he walked.

Splinter loved his sons, but sometimes they were too much for even him to deal with. When Donatello got into his 'scientific lecture mode,' there was no stopping him. Usually about this point Splinter tuned out of the conversation. _Donatello means well, but I have never come to a more complete understanding of what he is trying to explain after he explains it._ It was a cruel truth.

Splinter continued 'pretend listening' as Donatello fiddled around in the kitchen, pouring his own cup of tea. Splinter's eyelids were drooping when suddenly he processed what Don had been saying, and he sat bolt upright.

"What did you just say?"

Donatello walked to the couch adjacent to his sensei's chair and looked at him solemnly. "Yeah, I know, it was a blow to me too. I had always thought that since we all look so alike that we must be genetically related."

"No, no, no, not that. (What did you say about the mutagen!) " Splinter's eyes were opened wide, and he had slipped back into his native tongue in his haste.

Don's was taken aback by Splinter's sudden interest in the mutagen. Splinter was not and never had been a science fan, beyond those skills he needed and used in _ninjisu_. He merely accepted the fact that the glowing green ooze had made him into a fuzzy rat-man and did not question the logic or science behind it. "The mutagen?"

"_Hai_!" Splinter was sitting with rapt attention, tail twitching in impatience for Donatello's answer.

"There's no trace of it in our bodies. Well, you do, but the rest of us don't. I have to run more tests to be sure of it, but it's like none of the four of us were exposed to the mutagen at all."

Splinter dropped his teacup, and it smashed in a spectacular spray at his feet.

"Master Splinter! Are you okay?" Donny was on his feet in mere seconds, but his teacher was already picking the pieces of the delicate teacup off of the floor.

"Yes. I am fine. It… slipped." Splinter hid his face from Don's enquiring gaze, focusing on the task at hand and hiding the emotions he was sure were flying across his face at the speed of light.

_I had always known they would discover the truth… but now? So soon? What am I to tell them? Lord Buddha, give me guidance…_

"Master Splinter? Don? What's going on?" Leonardo had entered the living room, _katanas_ unsheathed and ready for battle. "I heard a crash."

"It was nothing, my son. I dropped a teacup." He gracefully rose from his crouch with the shattered teacup pieces in his hands and took a step toward the kitchen.

"Master Splinter…" Donatello caught one of Splinter's arms. "What do you know about the mutagen that we don't?"

Splinter met his son's eyes with a steely gaze. "That is none of your concern at the moment. It is time for practice. I will awaken Michaelangelo and Raphael. Please warm up until they join you in the dojo. I will be there momentarily." Don searched the aged rat's eyes a moment more, then moved past him into the dojo without a word. Leonardo still stood at the ready, katanas half raised. He raised an eye ridge at Splinter, who motioned at him to follow his brother.

Splinter walked to the kitchen and dumped the pottery shards into the trash, waiting until he heard Leonardo enter the dojo as well. Then he put his hands on either side of the sink, bowed his head, and let out a world-weary sigh.

_How am I to tell them what I have tried to forget for so many years?_

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_Methinks Master Splinter has a secret…_

_I took a little poetic license and made Splinter a Buddhist. I hope that doesn't offend anyone! I know very little about the Buddhist culture, so forgive me if I make some sort of huge glaring error. I plan not to make any, but I like to cover all my bases._

_Hmm, I'm starting to see the reason people like to end their chapters in cliffhangers. It's such an easy way to end a chapter! Sigh I've been on the receiving end of a cliffhanger one too many times… It's a vicious cycle._

_I jumped around with the POV's a little bit in this chapter- hopefully it didn't disrupt the story too much!_

_ I had a bit of trouble formatting this chapter... anyone have any tips?  
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_And don't forget to leave a review before you go! Thanks!_

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_Shout-outs!_

**The-REAL-Cheese-Monkey**: Thanks so much for reviewing my stories! I nearly fell off my computer chair when I saw how many reviews I had! feels loved

**Melodist:** I don't blame you for the short review, I've been at that 'face plant' stage far too often to be pointing fingers: ) Thanks for reading!

**Reinbeauchaser:** I fixed the error in the first chapter- thanks for pointing it out to me!

**Pacphys:** I liked your review- it was haphazard and all over the place, just like my thought processes! (lol!) And I think you're going to have to be in suspense about 'what they _really_ are' for a little while longer. It didn't quite fit in this chapter. And get ready for more suspense next chapter! (I think.)

**Misterfooch**: Yeah, Don's a family guy in this story! I'm not quite sure where you got the 'rejected and distant from his family' bit though- I don't think _Dishes_ showed him that way, any road. Is there a specific fic you had in mind?


	3. Comfy and Snugglerific

**Disclaimer**: _Completely fluffy chapter with no real purpose but to entertain. See author's note for details. Otherwise, enjoy!_

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"Splinter knows something April." Donatello was restlessly pacing April's living room floor, and had been for nearly a half an hour. "He knows something big, and he isn't telling us what it is!"

"Maybe he's trying to shelter you guys from something. He is your father, after all, and that's what fathers do." April was seated on her couch in her pjs, arms wrapped tightly around one of the fluffy pillows that resided there. Don didn't reply to her comment, just rubbed at his eyes stubbornly and continued to pace. April continued to watch him, and for the first time noticed that he had bags the size of Raph's ego under his eyes. "Don, I don't mean to be a nudge, but when was the last time you've slept?"

He stood stock still for a moment, computing what she had asked him, then turned and gazed at her with bleary eyes. He suddenly laughed, almost hysterically. "I have no idea."

She looked at him sternly, then spoke. "Go. Bed. Now." She pointed at her bedroom.

Don's eyes widened and he shook his head. "But April, what about my experiment? I can't go to sleep now, it's only half done!"

"I'll do it."

"But…"

"What, you don't trust me to do it right? Listen buster, I didn't get through college with a 3.9 GPA by tossing my hair and partying. I know what I'm doing." She flashed him a brilliant smile. "I'll take care of it. Now go- I just changed the sheets this morning." She shot a glance toward the sun that was just breaking over the horizon through her window. "Well, yesterday morning. Jesh, I think I've seen more sunrises since I've met you guys then in the rest of my life all together."

Don chuckled, then grew solemn again. "Fine. I'll be back after night falls." He started stumbling toward her fire escape.

"STOP. Turn." Don meekly followed her instructions. "I don't trust you to sleep when you get home. In fact, I don't trust that you'll GET home. Besides, if you do get there you'll want to try just one more experiment, or read just one more chapter of some book and you'll never go to sleep. This way I'll know for sure." Don still looked unconvinced. "C'mon, humor me."

He continued to sputter as April got up and forcefully took his arm, leading him into the bedroom. "But, but… It's your bed!"

"Damn right it's my bed. It's comfy and snuggle-rific, I've had all the sleep I'm going to get there today, and you WILL sleep there. I'm going to call the Lair and tell everyone that you're here for the day, and then I am going to continue to do research for you."

Don took a deep breath as if he was going to argue some more, then thought better of it and settled for just giving her a dirty look.

"You're lucky I'm too tired to carry on an argument." He said sullenly.

"Damn skippy."

They entered the bedroom with little trouble. Don did a sleepy double-take as he took in the room. "April, you are aware that your room is pink, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh good… Because you should know… what color every…thing is…"

April helped him strip off his padding and mask and set all of his accoutrements on her side table. He weakly protested, but was fading fast, especially when he was faced with a comfortable bed.

"Your bo is by the door. I'll be here when you wake up."

Don murmured wordlessly in reply, only half conscious. April smiled, grabbed some clothing from her dresser, and left the room. She had work to do.

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_**Author's Note**__: Yes, that was a completely unneeded and utterly short, fluffy chapter. It originally was supposed to be the beginning part of the next chapter, but then that chapter was going to be waay too long, so I chopped this part off of it so I could post it today. A gift! (Or a bribe, whichever you prefer)_

___Look for the next installation (which has an actual plotline) tomorrow or by THE LATEST, Saturday!_

**Shout Outs:**

**Sporksareweird**- Yes, our "Gollum" sides do tend to pop out at the most inopportune moments, don't they? Glad you like the story so far!

**Lunar-Ninja**- Say what you want about Buddism, but with 360,000,000 followers, they're doing something right. (And it's probably not that great of an idea to criticize people's religions- they could get touchy!) Thanks for reviewing!

**The REAL Cheese Monkey**- Yes, I follow that principle for judging good fics too. lol!

**Isis-Lament-** Yeah, Master Splinter never really stuck me as the most technological savvy person around. Kinda reminds me of my grandparents… who I had to teach how to cut and paste… again… lol!

**Misterfooch-** Thanks for clearing that up! Hope you're enjoying the fic!

**Pacphys- **Of COURSE Splinter knows! He is the all-knowing rat-man! (Dun da-dah!) lol! Well, all-knowing-except-in-the-technology-department-rat-man. : P

**TBreader**- Thanks for reviewing!


	4. Questions Answered and Unasked

**Disclaimer**:_ The turtles aren't mine, they're just channeling their story THROUGH me... (Yeah, that's the cold medicine talking.) _

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It was after dark before Donatello woke up. He looked at the glowing digital clock next to the bed and was shocked to find that it was almost nine PM. _That's almost 16 hours! Why didn't April wake me up?_

He rolled out of bed and quickly donned (A/N- No pun intended!) his pads and mask, then walked into the living room. After April's old apartment had burned down, she had decided that she needed a bigger and better place to live. So with her abundant insurance money in hand, she had been able to acquire a gorgeous apartment that took up an entire floor of a quiet building halfway between uptown and downtown. It had enough rooms for the turtles, (in case of an emergency sleepover) and easy access for them to get in, as well as a spacious kitchen. Mikey had practically swooned when he saw it for the first time, and Raph had had to physically drag him away from the shiny new kitchen appliances when it was time to leave.

In an out-of-the-way corner of the penthouse was April's pride and joy, her modified laboratory. The second largest room in the house, it held plenty of room for any and all scientific equipment that she acquired. It was Don's second home. He had even published a few scientific articles under April's name. Those articles brought in a little cash, but every bit helped. April had spent more money then she probably should have on the apartment, and even though she was paid handsomely for her freelance journalist and editorial work, months had gone by where she had been barely able to pay the bills.

Things were better now, but she still didn't have cable television, let alone a TV. Raph and Mikey had proclaimed that "She's living in sin!" and had made it their personal mission to get her the best television that was available, and were scrimping and saving everything that they could find in order to save up enough money.

Don made his way through the darkened apartment and soon stood in the doorway to the lab. He smiled at what he saw. April was facedown on a pile of books and papers and printouts, faintly snoring.

"April…" Don crossed the room and gently shook her shoulder. "So much for having enough sleep last night, huh?" She moaned softly at his intrusion and muttered under her breath. She then wearily raised her head, her hair a sleep-tangled mess.

"Ugh… Donny? Wha' time izzit?" She blinked owlishly at him.

He chuckled. "A little after nine."

She rubbed her eyes madly and looked back up at him. "Really?"

"Really."

She stared at him groggily for another moment. Then her eyes widened.

"Crap!" She sat up and frantically started searching through her papers. "That means I've been asleep for …" She checked her wrist only to find that her watch wasn't there. She sighed, and continued searching. "Too long." She rolled her chair over to her printer, took a page out of it and scanned the sheet quickly. "Damnit, my trial finished an hour ago!"

She then zoomed over to her computer and started typing frantically.

"April, what trial? I thought you were going to finish the extension of the DNA analysis, then wait up for me to do more."

She snorted. "No way! You needed your sleep, and I wasn't going to sit around and twiddle my thumbs until you woke up! Besides, I've found LOADS of stuff about the mutagen since you've been gone!" She was a swivel-chair speed demon, zipping back and forth from desk to computer to lab bench, and then back again at a dizzying speed. "If you go make coffee, I'll have just enough time to make sense of my data and show you what I found!"

Don backed out of the lab, then walked towards the kitchen, shaking his head. _How in the world does she manage to order me around without giving me direct orders? I bet that she could even give Splinter a run for his money in that category…_

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Ten minutes later he returned to the lab to find April surrounded by at least a resemblance of order. The books and papers were stacked in neat piles and the clutter had been mostly cleared away.

"Wow."

"Thank you." April swooped past him, grabbing a coffee cup and rolling away before he could say anything. She came to a rest next to the desk and took a large swig of coffee. "Ahhhh…" She closed her eyes in bliss. "Many things can be said about you Donatello, and one of the things that doesn't get nearly enough praise is your skill for making coffee." She took another sip. "Where did you learn to make it like this?"

He rubbed the back of his head in an awkward gesture, unaccustomed to so much praise. "Internet."

She giggled, then motioned at him to sit down in the chair opposite her. "Right. Now that I'm fully awake, we can get to business." She set the coffee down and picked up a sheaf of paper. "The details for the DNA analysis are in here. You guys are the same species of turtle… to some degree, that's for certain. What this experiment doesn't show us is how the mutagen fits into all of this." She set the sheaf of paper down and grabbed another, thicker packet. "This is a recent study on the mutagen by TGRI." She handed the papers to Don, who looked over them before raising an eye-ridge at her.

" 'From the Desk of Professor Jonathan Perry?' Did you hack into TGRI's system to get these? "

"Maybe." She said coyly.

He gave a low whistle. "Good job. I've been trying to get at some of these documents for months!"

She grinned. "What can I say? It's a talent." She drained her cup of coffee to fortify herself, then plowed ahead. "Here's the deal- the mutagen takes any animal DNA it comes in touch with and mutates it, right? But we've never been able to figure out how it worked because we never got a viable sample. TGRI has no problems with getting the samples, so they've got analysis's coming out the wahzoo. The one that I got is on the third page. Notice anything interesting about it?"

Donatello flipped over the thin sheets quickly. He studied the page in question for a moment, then exclaimed, "Is that DNA in there?"

"Yep. This stuff comes ready made to mutate things with _human_ DNA. Furthermore, from what I can tell, it a generational mutation."

"But that doesn't make any sense. If the mutagen causes generational mutations, then…"

"You would need a generation in order to mutate something. Or someone."

Don continued to study the paper. "How much of a generation are we talking about here? "

April reached over and tapped a few keys on her computer. "I did a few trials, but they couldn't prove anything. I tried hacking into the system again, but they had upgraded their firewall, and I couldn't get through. Not without more computer power, anyway."

Don was silent. April shot him a worried glance. "Don?"

"Then Splinter's story was wrong. He lied… to _us_. " Don was staring at the paper, not really reading it anymore, a glazed look coming over his eyes.

"Don?" He didn't move. "Don!" April touched his arm after he didn't answer her. He jumped.

"Sorry." April looked helplessly at him.

"Is there anything that I can do?"

He didn't answer for a moment, thinking. "Could you just call the guys? I think we all should be here for this. They need to know before we do anything."

"Sure." She got up and looked back at Don. "Y' going to be okay?"

He looked back up at her with hollow eyes. "I'll be okay when I find out the truth."

* * *

_Thanks to a nasty cough/stuffy nose/sore throat/insert random illness here combination I've been able to churn out these chapters faster then I would normally. Yay for lack-of-sleep-induced colds! _

_Yes, I realize I'm taking a few liberties here. I prefer 'warping the original story to the very limit, then going a little bit farther' myself, but whatever._

_For example, the April portrayed here is a mishmash from every TMNT series/movie I've ever seen, and a little poetic license as well._

_Y'all shouldn't expect an update, at least for another few days- My cold doesn't seem to be going away, and family is flying in for my grandparents' 50-year anniversary tomorrow morning as well. I'm sure you've all been in an awkward family situation before... Lol! I'm not giving up on this story! 2 more chapters! (Unless I get hit by the Muse truck... again...)  
_

**Shout outs!**

**Misterfooch**: Well, originally she was going to have a 4.0, but then I digressed, because then she'd be TOO perfect! (lol) And while a review can be pointless, it is never unappreciated: P

**Tbreader**: Yeah, fathers do tend to have that annoying psychic trait. Sighs Don't know anything about the Thunderbirds though, so ya lost me there. Lol!

**Lunar-Ninja**- Thanks for reviewing, and I'm having fun with our debate/discussion thing!

**Pacphys**- You'll get the bros' reactions… next chapter! I'm glad that you liked the descriptions that I used too!

_Don't forget to leave a review before you go! Thanks!_


	5. Michaelangelo, Sex God

Leonardo let out his breath in a long and controlled sigh. He had just finished his bi-daily workout, and was preparing to meditate.

And then the phone rang.

He gritted his teeth. _I do not have to get it. Someone else will. Mikey has that phone in his room, and I saw Raph this morning. He'll get it. Or Master Splinter. But Sensei doesn't like being disturbed… or answering the phone at all for that matter… and it's _still_ ringing…_

He groaned and gracefully rose to his feet and padded over the phone, just as the answering machine kicked in.

"_Hello lover… You've reached the Lair of Michelangelo, Sex God. Leave a message and I promise to call you back and make all your naughtiest dreams come true."_

Leo rolled his eyes at the message. _One of these days Splinter is going to hear that and have a heart attack… _

His thoughts were interrupted by April's voice coming out of the speaker. "… Um… Interesting message ya got there… Anyway, it's April. Listen, um, I have Donatello here… Damn, I meant to call you guys about that earlier, but I, uh, got distracted… He spent the night over here, sorry if you guys got worried. Oh, he's going to be mad at me… Wait. That's not the point." She sighed, recollecting herself. "Just… get over here as soon as you can- Don and I… well, Don, really, needs to talk to you three about something that's really important… so when you get this message…" She was quiet for a moment before she continued. "Right. Hope y'all aren't out getting yourselves killed… Again… See you in a bit. Bye."

Leonardo did not wait hear the end of the message before he was running out of the room at top speed to find Mike and Raph.

* * *

"What d' ya mean they have 'something important t' tell us?' What the hell izzat supposed t' mean?" 

"How should I know? I just heard the damn message, I know just as much as you do!" The three turtles were hurtling over the rooftops at top speed, gracefully leaping from building to building.

"Maybe its nothing. Maybe they're eloping!"

At Mikey's comment, Raph and Leo skidded to a stop. They then turned as one to give their little brother the_ look._

"What?" Mikey held his hands up in a helpless gesture. "They HAVE been spending a lot of time together lately…" Raph and Leo shared a glance, then shook their heads.

"Nah, it couldn't be." They then all paused for a long moment, really giving the matter some thought, and finding more truth in the statement then any of them really wanted to admit. Finally Leo shook himself out of the semi-trance in which he was in.

"Come on, we don't have time for this. Let's get there before we make any more conclusions otherwise."

And off they ran into the semi-darkness of the city that never really sleeps.

* * *

"Well, I called them, but I only got the answering machine." 

Don lifted his head from the desk with a serious look on his face. "Well, that could mean a variety of things… They could be out, they could be at the lair and just not answering…"

"Or they could be right outside my window." April was staring out her office window, where Mikey was hanging upside down and motioning at her to open it.

"…Or they could be right outside your window." Don grinned at April's dumbstruck expression.

She quickly walked over and opened the window. Michaelangelo elegantly swung into the room, landing with only the barest noise. "How the heck did you get here so fast!" April said while walking back towards Donatello, to give the two remaining turtles outside room in which they could maneuver.

"Its amazing how fast one can run when a mysterious message is left on one's answering machine." Leo dropped through the window, closely followed by Raphael.

April blushed. "Sorry about that. It's been a long day. Days, actually."

A silence fell over the room as Mikey jabbed Leo in the ribs with an elbow. "Look how close they're standing together, dude!" He hissed, low enough for only Leo to hear. Leo's eyes widened.

Finally, Raph couldn't take the silence anymore. "So what was so important that we drop everything and run over here?" He leaned casually against a wall, a calculating look in his eyes. He, as well as Mike and Leo were all breathing harder then usual, testament to their mad dash through the city.

April looked away from his glance. "Well… It's not really my place to say. Don?"

Donatello turned his swivel chair around with a sigh and faced his brothers. "Better take a seat, you guys. This is going to take a while."

* * *

"So you guys aren't getting married after all?" 

Raph swatted his younger brother's head. "After Donny tells us that we don' know what the flamin' hell we are anymore, ya' crack a damn joke! What the hell is the matter wit' you?"

MIkey rubbed his head ruefully. "Jesh, _sorry_. The tension was getting to me. Sorry for trying to lift everyone's spirits!"

April looked at Don with a flabbergasted look on her face and mouthed, '_married!' _He shrugged, looking equally as confused.

"Guys, come on, stop fighting. We need to figure out what to do next." Leonardo was perched on a desk next to April. He looked at Mike and Raph cautiously, ready to jump in if the two came to blows.

"I'LL tell ya' what we need ta do next! We need to go to Splinter and find out what REALLY happened and why the frikin' hell he lied to us all these years!"

"Raph!" Leo hopped off the desk. "He's still our sensei, have some respect! Maybe he had a good reason…"

"No reason can be good enough to hide information from us for twenty years, Leo. Besides, he lost MY respect when he made YOU th' leader!" Raph snarled.

At that, Leo reached for his _katanas_. Raph's hands dropped to the _sais_ at his waist.

"ENOUGH!" Donatello leapt from his chair to stand between his two older brothers. "You two are acting like children!" He turned to Leo. "I agree with Raph. We need to talk to Splinter about this, and the sooner the better." Raph smirked at Leo from behind Don's back. Leo frowned. Then Don turned back to face Raph. "And YOU need to get over this damn inferiority complex of yours! Leo's the best at being leader out of all of us, and somewhere in that thick head of yours, you know it too!"

Raph growled low in his chest. Don stared at him, keeping eye contact and wordlessly challenging him. After a few tense moments, Raph looked away, fingertips rubbing the pommels of his _sai_ furiously. Don gave a small triumphant smile.

"So what do we do now?" Mikey asked, a little nervously.

Don replied, a serious expression on his face. "We go find Splinter and make him tell us the truth, once and for all."

* * *

_Well, it's been longer since I've updated then I would have liked… Things got just a mite hectic around here… But finals are over on Tuesday, and then I will be able to finish this fic! _

**Shout-Outs**

**The REAL Cheese Monkey:** Your review made me grin… lol

**Misterfooch:** Lucky! Yeah, getting colds stinks. But now I'm healed through the magical power of the eminent end of school!

**Shadowflame611**: New Reviewer, Yay! - Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you're so interested in my fic!

**Pacphys:** I thought it was a cute chapter too. : ) And you're probably right about the plural form of 'analysis'- there's a reason I got a low grade in grammar, you know! Lol!

**Lunar-Ninja**: Now THAT is a threat that I have to remember. Shudder All I could think of when I first read it was that scene from _A Christmas Story_ when Ralphie had to eat soap as a punishment for saying the 'naughty swear word'… ; ) Though, I'm not quite sure what she's doing to warrant having soap poured down her throat for… lol!

**FF Demon-Angel**: Wow! Another new reviewer! Cool! Thanks for reviewing, and hoped you liked this chapter!


	6. Splinter Tells the Truth

**Disclaimer**: The plot is mine, the characters aren't. Any complaints, complements, or general outrage for what I have done to the turtles can be sent via e-mail to kitsunedragon(at)hotmail(dot)com

* * *

_Fun fact_- 'Yoshi', Splinter's real name can be defined as 'reed, or bulrush.' 'Ashi', which is 'Foot' (As in 'the Foot Clan') in Japanese can also be defined as 'reed or bulrush'. Funny how these things are connected, huh? 

_Italics_ are used for emphasis, thoughts, and words in Japanese. I think y'all will be able to tell the difference, 'cause y'all are a bunch of smart goobers: ) Yeah, that's the lack of sleep talking…

And on to the story!

* * *

Flashback... "_So what do we do now?" Mikey asked, a little nervously._

_Don replied, a serious expression on his face. "We go find Splinter and make him tell us the truth, once and for all."

* * *

_

_The next morning…_

"Master Splinter?" Leo gently knocked on his sensei's door. _I hate it when I draw the short straw. _"Sensei? Are you in there?" He cautiously slid the door aside and peaked into the pristine and dimly lit refurbished subway car. Splinter was sitting in the middle of the room next to a lighted piece of incense, meditating with his back to the door.

"Yes, my son?" Leo jumped, starled. One of Splinter's ears swiveled backwards, pointing directly at him. "Are you and your brothers finished with your katas already?"

"Yes.. I mean, no… I mean…"

Splinter half turned to Leonardo and opened an eye. "You are nervous- What did Raphael do this time?"

_Darn you and your fatherhood induced telepathy!_ "No, no, Raph has nothing to do with it this time. I came here to uh, I mean, uh, can we… um, can we ask you something?" Something in Leonardo's voice made Splinter turn completely around.

"Certainly, my son." Leo squirmed for a moment while Splinter waited patiently.

"Can all of us come in?" Splinter locked eyes with his son. Leonardo's eyes were filled with trepidation, sorrow, and the haunted look of an innocent betrayed.

"Of course… Leonardo, I sense much disquiet in you. What is going on?" Leo dropped his gaze and without a word, disappeared from the doorway to fetch his brothers.

Mere moments later, the four turtles shuffled quietly in and sat down in a row in front of him.

"Yes?" They looked at each other, and then Mikey nudged Donatello forward. Don threw his brothers a look that said, 'Gee, thanks guys.' He then gave his attention back to Splinter.

"Master Splinter, we would like you to be honest with us."

Splinter nodded, warily. "Yes, of course."

Don took a deep breath before continuing. "How is it that you knew that we weren't genetically related?"

Splinter froze. _So it has come to this… I was a fool to think that they could never discover the truth. Perhaps I should lie, tell them it was merely a suspicion… _

_No. This farce has gone on for too long. They deserve to know._

"Master Splinter?" Donatello's voice brought him out of his reverie. Splinter looked at his four sons, each with equal looks of trust and wary anticipation on their faces.

"I am sorry, I was merely collecting my thoughts." He took a deep breath. "I… I have no excuse for deceiving you four all these years except that I believed that I was protecting you. Though I would rather not recount these memories again, you all deserve to know… the truth about your past. Please, this is a long tale, so make yourselves comfortable and do not interrupt me, no matter what I may say, until the end."

Splinter closed his eyes and began his tale.

* * *

"I was born in Kitakyushu, Japan in 1930. My parents were lower middle class in the best of times, but they loved each other and treated me kindly, and we lived in happiness. Years passed, and then the evil that was Hitler and the Nazi movement came upon Japan. My parents were both kind hearted people, and resisted the Nazis as much as they could, and were eventually killed trying to save an innocent from the Army's clutches.

"That was the year of 1939, and I was an orphan, utterly alone in the world. I managed to eke out a survival by digging through trash heaps and joining a local gang of street children who were orphans as well.

"World War Two was a horrible time for Japan, especially for us children, who had no one to protect or help us. One of the other children had been trained in some sort of fighting technique that was half karate, half street-fighting prowess, and he taught it to all of us, so that we all had at least some way of protecting ourselves. I became more then proficient in this semi-fighting art- the first of many that I would learn.

"After the Americans bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there was a great exodus of people leaving the cities and the areas immediately surrounding them. I too left the city of Kitakyushu, and moved northeast, toward the mainland of Japan. There I had heard of a fighting clan that would teach anyone who could prove themselves worthy. I had liked what the fighting orphan had taught me about fighting, and I desired to learn more. At the tender age of 15, I felt that I was certain to be allowed to join the clan with no trouble.

"However, this was not the road that Lord Buddha gave to me. On the road, I was stopped by a strange man. He recognized the look of my father in me, and brought me to his master, my newfound great-uncle Gyogi. Gyogi was fleeing Hiroshima with a few of his faithful students and servants- he had been blinded by an aftereffect to the bomb that had destroyed the city.

"Gyogi was not only my great-uncle on my father's side- he was also a powerful _ninja_ master. He took me in under his wing and eventually taught me everything that he knew about the arts of _ninjitsu_ and meditation.

"This training took 10 long years to complete. I lived by three principles- eat, sleep, and train. Nothing else was important. Of course, I could not live like this for ever, and once I turned 25, Gyogi sent me to _his_ teacher, the leader of the _Ashida_ Clan."

_Ashida… That's Japanese for foot… Could that be another name for the Foot clan?_ Donatello's eyes widened, but he wisely kept his suspicions to himself.

"Gyogi had exhausted his knowledge of _ninjitsu_ teaching me. He saw that I had the talent and the ability to go much further then he had ever gone, which is why he sent me to his master's dojo.

"There, I was able to learn the highest and most clandestine secrets of the ninja, and I also learned that there was more to _ninjitsu_ then stealth and fighting. Science, psychology, chemistry, all were worlds to be explored and conquered. These new subjects, specifically the sciences, fascinated me, and soon I became the best student of the clan.

"Then I became close friends with another highly honored student of the clan- a man named Oroku Saki."

The four turtles gasped. "Master Splinter- " Leo began to speak, but Splinter silenced him with a look.

He then continued as if he had not heard their interruption. "Saki was a good friend, at least to one who had not had many friends before. He shared the same fascination with the sciences as I did, and we shared many sleepless nights discussing theories.

"One of our many discussions brought about the idea of giving animal traits to human beings. Imagine, instead of walking as quietly as a cat, one would have the actual feet of a cat to ensure silence."

Donatello squirmed in his seat, clearly wanting to debate the topic.

"Yes, Donatello, sounds impossible, does it not? Yet with the advanced technology that the clan had at its deposal, anything we dreamed was possible. We worked for years perfecting the chemical serum through experimentation, and were on the brink of completing it when tragedy struck. Our beloved Sensei was found murdered in his bed, and the killer's knife had our own symbol on it. As we had no enemies at that time, we deduced that the killer was among our own ranks.

"I myself was extremely close to Sensei, and his death sent me into an almost crazed state. In my delusion, I enlisted Saki to help me use the chemical serum to avenge our master. I knew that if I remained human, remained a 'normal' ninja, that I would not be able to find the killer. If the murderer had enough skill to get past all guards and Snesei himself, then there was very little chance that I as a human would be able to stop him, no matter how skilled I was.

"I eventually decided to mutate in the form of the rat. The rat was the totem of our clan, and we all bore the paw print of a rat upon our uniforms, so it seemed fitting that we used the essence of a rat to accomplish our vengeance.

"The night before we did the procedure, I went to see a woman, a geisha, with whom I had spent many days and nights with. I… **we**, we were in love, as much as a student of _ninjitsu_ and a lady courtesan could be in love. Tang Shen was beauty and grace incarnate. She… " He bowed his head for a moment, and the turtles shifted uncomfortably as they waited for him to continue. Splinter had never told them THIS story before, and he had never shown this much emotion about his history either. Splinter brought himself under control in a few moments and continued.

"Saki was jealous of the relationship I had with Tang Shen. He was younger then I, and yet he believed that he deserved her more. Perhaps he was simply jealous of the relationship that we had. No matter what his cause was, in the haze of his jealousy, he decided that the only way to get Tang Shen was to 'take me out of the picture.' After I visited her, he kidnapped her without my knowing. He then proceeded to go through with the procedure with me like nothing had happened." He growled at the memory.

"Right before I received the mutagen, Splinter put me in a special room, a sort of padded cage one would normally use for the insane. Since we had no idea how the chemicals would affect me, this was the 'safest way' to ensure the safety of both Saki and myself.

"My transformation… was painful. I do not remember much of it, as I was semiconscious throughout the mutation. What I do remember was akin to swimming though a pain-filled haze… I do not know how much time I spent in this state, but it was long enough for Saki to malign my name among the remaining clan members, so that when I awakened, I found that they all believed that I was behind my Sensei's death.

"Not that any of them would have recognized me- The clan members were looking for a five-foot, six-inch man, not a four-foot, six-inch humanoid rat. But Saki was not content with simply destroying the credibility of my name. No, he wanted to completely destroy me, mentally and physically.

"Once he discovered that I was conscious and alive, he came to my room to gloat. You see, Saki was extraordinarily vain for a ninja. And as a human, I was not an extremely handsome man, especially compared to Saki. He had looked down upon me then, and even more after I had transformed into what… I am now. He strolled into my cell and told me everything- how he had kidnapped Tang Shen, why he had _really_ mutated me, and especially how _he had killed our master to take over as clan leader_. And with my weak body, I could only growl at him as he _laughed._"

Splinter's frail form shook with emotion as he continued.

"I did not have much control over my limbs at that point. Walking was totally beyond me, and fighting even farther.

"Then Saki came very close to me, and whispered to me, telling me how he greatly enjoyed bedding Tang Shen. Something in me snapped, and I lashed out at Saki's face. My claws were sharp, and my aim was true. I neglected to blind him, but the damage was done. Saki would never have a handsome face again. In his rage over the loss of his perfect face, Saki had Tang Shen brought into the room and made me watch as he… violated her… and beat her… Soon she was unrecognizable, and I was unable to help her."

Splinter's tail lashed angrily at the ground as he revisited the scene in his head.

"Then he… he turned to me and gave me the choice- give her 'honor' by being the hand that killed her, or he would give her to his _gaijin_ guards, with their heavy and uncultured ways and who would surely rape to death. There was no question to which path I took. She took one look at me, and in her wearied state, started laughing, hysterical. I tried to talk to her, comfort her in some way, but my new vocal cords sounded alien and raspy, nothing like my previous voice. Shen only grew more hysterical. Finally I… did what I had to do. She died with fear in her eyes, and my name on her lips."

Splinter paused for another moment, getting himself under control before he continued.

"Saki took the body and left, and I was left alone for hours, if not days. A windowless cell does not make time-taking easy. I swore that I would avenge Tang Shen and my Sensei, no matter how long it took. Ororu Saki could not be allowed to live.

"However, I knew that this was not the time or place to make my revenge. I was at a distinct disadvantage by being in possession of such an alien body. To pass the time, I trained myself to become accustomed to this new body. To conserve energy, I meditated. When Saki entered again, I was ready. I charged the door and knocked Saki and his two ninja counterparts unconscious. I then locked them in my old room and ran, taking Saki's robe to cover myself and a _bo_ staff that one of the ninjas had been carrying.

"In the middle of my flight, however, I discovered the remnants of another, earlier experiment that Saki and I had worked on. To test an earlier version of the serum, we used turtles as 'lab rats.' The serum proved to evolve the turtles to more humanlike appearance, but it worked like real evolution did- the affects only appeared in the offspring. This was a scientific breakthrough, to be sure, but it did not work fast enough for our plans.

Raph clapped a hand over Donatello's mouth to keep him from interrupting. Splinter pretended not to notice.

"The four **female** turtles that we had kept were sentient beings. They had an awareness of their surroundings, and could learn simple concepts. They were the third generation of our experimental beings, and by far the most intelligent. I had grown attached to their naïveté, while Saki treated them with contempt and an unfeeling manner. I could not leave them to suffer at his hands. The four were almost three months pregnant, but all were small to begin with, so it was a simple matter to bundle them in Saki's robe and escape.

"From there, I made my way to the coast, and stowed away on a produce ship bound for the United States. I believed that we could be safe, for a time, in the States. Saki and the clan would not be able to find me as easily with an ocean between us. The entire Clan would be out for my blood, I knew, and knowing Saki, they all would know about my change in appearance. After all, what is the use of a clan of homicidal ninjas when they are looking for the wrong thing?

"The turtles and I were on the ship for almost two weeks, only surviving on what I could scavenge from the food crates and the ship's galley. We landed in California just as the sun set, and I was able to smuggle myself and the turtles onto what I thought was boxcar full of strange crates without detection. I quickly fell into an exhausted sleep, curled around the equally tired little ones. Being on the sea for such an extended period of time did not quite agree with them. In the morning, I awoke only to find that the end of the trailer truck (for that was what it was, not a boxcar) was closing. With a metallic clang, the four turtles and I were trapped.

"I am not exactly sure how we survived the trip, to be completely honest. Luck must have been upon our side. We had to travel through the mid September heat of the west, and the trailer was like an oven. Pure luck gave us a ventilated truck bed, as well as a door that I could manipulate open when the driver stopped to sleep at rest areas. I stole from the restaurants and vending machines at these rest areas, and against all odds, we survived.

"The four turtles were four and a half months pregnant at this point, and I was getting quite worried about them. You see, the previous generations had not been able to carry their young to full term and these four were far past that date."

He shuddered, then recovered and continued. "The truck had finally reached its destination- New York City. I was able to slip out of the truck, the turtles once again bundled in Saki's robe, without notice. I found cover behind a dumpster in an alley and took in my surroundings. New York was _nothing_ like Japan. I was disgusted to find how dirty the streets were… and it was then that I discovered my first American manhole cover. I speculated that there were tunnels under the roads, just like in Japan. I slid into the sewers and found that despite the utterly revolting smell, they were inhabitable."

"They don't smell THAT bad!"

Splinter glared at Michelangelo. "They may not smell 'bad' to you, who have grown up knowing nothing else but the smell of sewage and garbage. I had lived my whole life in fresh air! But safety was far more important then momentary discomfort on my part, and in the sewers we stayed.

"I was able to find an empty maintenance room that looked as if it hadn't been used in many months, nor that it WOULD be used anytime soon. I left the turtles there to forage for food on the surface, using _ninja_ markings on the walls to find my way back.

A few days after our arrival, the four turtles were acting… in a distressing manner. Their respective pregnancies were far overdue, as I had said before, and their belly plates were beginning to become extremely convex in shape. As they were approximately the size of housecats, this was rather distressing. I began to realize that their unborn children were growing far too large and fast. At this point I had two options- watch as both mother and child died, or sacrifice one to save the other."

"You mean…" Donatello said, his voice shaking.

Splinter bowed his head. "_Hai._ I performed an emergency cesarean, of sorts. With no surgical implements or drugs, there was no chance for any of them to survive. Through the death of your mothers, the four of you live today."

* * *

_Phew! Well, how's THAT for answers! One more 'epilogue' chapter after this, and we're done! This chapter is more then two times bigger then any other chapter I've written so far. Hope you enjoyed it!_

_I did a lot of research for this chapter, and Mikey's TMNT site, as well as the TMNT Fanfic archive were both very helpful. Both gave me great material to create Splinter's background, so if you have a chance, go look them up!_

_I've taken some liberties in this chapter (Huh, LIBERTIES is an understatement, methinks)- One is; the real word for foot in Japanese is 'ashi'. I added the 'da' onto the end because it sounded better then 'Ashi Clan.' Of course, now it means 'rain clogs', but we'll just pretend that it means 'foot'._

_And if we go by the numbers given on Mikey's TMNT site, Splinter would be 54 when the turtles are born in 1984. This means that he spent most his life at the Foot Clan's headquarters, even though it doesn't seem like it in this story. The turtles are 21 everywhere but in the flashbacks.

* * *

_

**Shout outs!**

_Wow… you have NO IDEA how loved I felt when I opened up my email the other day and saw how many reviews I had gotten! So before I go all individual-commenty, I want to give everyone who DID leave a review a HUGE thank you! Reviewers ROCK!_

**Lunar-Ninja**: I hope this satisfied your curiosity. Hehe… Your review made me laugh!

**Melodist**: I'm sorry you missed the last couple of chapters too… But now you're all caught up and all is right with the world again. : ) And I meant for April's phone msg to sound that way- I'm glad it did, I was so worried that it would come out wrong somehow! (Can't wait for the next chap of Misadventures, btw!)

**Tbreader**: I'm sorry that I didn't update before the 27th… though I dunno why the time limit was on there… summer camp maybe? Well, whenever you DO get to read this, I hope you enjoy it!

**FF Demon-Angel**: This long enough for ya? Yeah, I was disappointed that they weren't getting married too. : P

**Sassyblondxoxo:** Girl, you ROCK! Thanks so much for all the reviews! TOTALLY made my day! Thanks for all the vet advice as well, hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Pacphys**: Yeah, I love it when Don gets all… _tough_. LOL! Thanks for the review!

**Engelina:** Your questions are answered! Thanks for the review!

**PossDownUnder:** Glad you like the story, I'm having fun writing it! And cliffhangers are handy little buggers too, ya know- just like you said, they bring readers back, chapter after chapter… looks around at hordes of angry readers Oops… Oh, and as for your remark about the exams, they were just the final exams- encompassing everything we learned in the past year. NOT a walk in the park, let me tell you!

**Reinbeauchaser:** I'm so flattered that you like my phrases so much. To tell you the truth, I get my inspiration from old "Buffy" Episodes. My god, those writers knew what they were doing… lol! Thanks so much for all the reviews!

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**Now, don't forget to leave a review before you go!**


	7. No Rest for the Wicked

**Disclaimer: Y'all know the drill.**

_Friendly warning- Some swearing in this one. Which can kinda be understood, ya know? It's Raph, what can I say...  
_

_And as a forethought- I don't write lemon. The one time I DID, it was really, __really bad. There are no words to describe how brutally awful it was. So no matter what a scenario __may look like, it's all innocent. I like you guys too much to subject you guys to... _that.

And on with the show!

* * *

"_You mean…" Donatello said, his voice shaking._

_Splinter bowed his head. "Hai. I performed an emergency cesarean, of sorts. With no surgical implements or drugs, there was no chance for any of them to survive. Through the death of your mothers, the four of you live today."

* * *

_

Splinter's final words were met with a disbelieving silence. Splinter looked at them all with sorrow filled eyes. "Perhaps I should not have waited this long to tell the truth of the matter. Perhaps… many things. I can only hope that you all will be able to forgive me, and perhaps trust me again, with time."

Donatello and Michaelango kept their gazes down, seemingly fascinated with the ragged rug that decorated the floor. Raph was rapidly spinning his _sai_ and appeared massively conflicted. Leo suddenly spoke.

"I don't know if I can do that…" He started backing up, away from Splinter, betrayal evident on his features. "You've lied to us for so many years. Everything that was once real and concrete you've twisted around and changed… How do we know that you won't do it again? How do we know that you… that you…" Suddenly his voice took on an angry tone. "You _dare_ to call us your sons after you kept _that_ from us!"

Splinter opened and closed his mouth like a fish, clearly trying to say something, but being unable to. His brothers stared at him disbelievingly. Of all of them, they thought that Leo would have been the one to support Splinter in whatever he had done. Leo barely spared any them a look as he tore out of the room.

Splinter, crushed, started to get up to follow his beloved son. "I-"

"No, Master Splinter. If ya' go after him now, you'll lose him forever." Raph stopped fiddling with his _sai_ and stuck them roughly in his belt. Splinter sat down again, an impossible-to-read look upon his furry face.

"Raphael… I know that-"

"_Don't_." Raph said though clenched teeth. "Jus'… don't. Jus' 'cause Leo was th' one who got to run out with a tormented speech this time doesn't mean that I'm not a hothead no more. I'm just as…" He looked his sensei in the eyes and he unclenched his teeth, slowly. Those eyes showed Raphael that Splinter was utterly torn apart inside. Raph sighed, and broke eye contact. "I… I'll try to talk some sense into him Sensei." With that, he bowed and left the room.

Splinter then turned to his two younger sons. Don and Mike looked at each other, then simultaneously stood up. "Sensei, we're gonna go too. We… just…" Donatello quietly trailed off.

Splinter nodded, somewhat sadly. "I had thought you might. Please…" He stopped mid-sentence. _I have no right to ask of them any more then I already have. _

"Yes, Sensei?"

Splinter looked at the two of them, then shook his head. "It is of no importance." The turtles looked uncomfortably at each other, then bowed and left the dojo. Splinter let his head sink onto his chest hopelessly.

Suddenly Michaelangelo popped his head back in.

"Hey, Master Splinter?"

Splinter snapped his head up. "Yes, my son?"

"We…we promise to come back." Splinter's eyes began to water at Mikey's most sincere declaration.

"Thank you, my son. _Domo arigato._"Mikey nodded, satisfied, then ducked back out of the room. Seconds later Splinter heard Donatello's mechanical door open and close, and he was left alone in the cold and silent sewer that he called home, hoping that he had not just destroyed everything that he held dear.

* * *

Raph knew where Leo was headed. The rooftop of this particular building overlooked Central Park, and it had been the first rooftop that they had ever been allowed to climb on. Flat, sheltered, secluded… It was Leo's most favorite of all the rooftops in New York City. 

Raph quickly scaled the fire escape ladder, and poked his head over the edge. Leonardo was in the center of the roof, performing a _kata_ at an accelerated pace, his twin _katana_ cutting through the air with quick and precise movements. He had an irate look upon his face.

Raph finished climbing onto the roof before speaking. "Hey Leo. Looks like ya' got some frustration there."

Leo jumped in surprise and nearly dropped one of his _katanas_. "Raph!" He yelped. He recovered quickly and frowned fiercely at his brother. "What do you want?"

Raph held his hands up in submission. "Hey, I don't want no trouble, I just wanna' talk."

"Pfft. Yeah, right." Leo went back to his _kata_, and Raph took that as permission to join his brother on the roof. He took a seat on the edge of the building and rested his head on his hands, and simply watched Leo.

After a few moments of tense silence, Raph spoke. "So…"

Leo didn't stop doing his _kata_ as he snarled back. "So… what?"

"Hey, gimme a break here- **I'm** usually the one with the chip on 'is shoulder who has to be talked down, bein' on the opposite side is somewhat of a new experience fer me."

Leo snorted and continued the silent movements.

Raph sighed and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "He was pretty upset about you leavin' like that, ya know."

Leo paused before continuing his next movement. "Why should I care?"

"Cause he's our _dad_, that's why. He spent years doin' whatever he could to keep us alive, to keep… our moms alive. Hell, he introduced us to pizza fer' Christ's sake, doesn't that count for anything?" He pushed off from the ledge and stood up, walking towards Leonardo.

Leo sheathed his _katanas_ with a grunt. "He's a hypocrite. A lying hypocrite."

Raph's grin disappeared. "Where the fuck did y' et 'hypocrite' from?"

Leo whirled around, going face-to-face to Raph, his eyes red. He started speaking very fast.

"What he did goes against EVERYTHING he has ever taught us! 'Do not steal for your own benefit, do not kill unless there is no other option.' He did BOTH, yes, and more! How can you be okay with that!"

He started to pace back and forth on the rooftop, overflowing with righteous anger.

"WE TRUSTED HIM! He should have told us this years ago!"

Raph snorted. He had backed away from Leo and was propped up against a wall, his eyes narrowed, watching Leo pace. "Yeah, so he could confuse us? I mean, c'mon Leo, you know better 'n all of us that we weren't really the sharpest crayons in the box. You had to deal with the rest of us makin' stupid mistakes, remember?"

Leonardo paused, then turned to Raph. "So you think that it was RIGHT that he lied to us for 20 years?"

"No, o' course not. I think it was right that he was protectin' his kids from somethin' that they couldn't understand. THINK for a minute, why don'cha? Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you would have been able to understand any of this when you were 5? 10? 16? Hell, we're freakin' 21 and some of it STILL went ove' my head!"

Leo shook his head in disgust and turned to look out over the horizon, his fists opening and closing convulsively.

Raph walked over to stand next to him. "Look, Leo, I understand that you're… uh… feelin' some deep shit right now, and if throwing a temper tantrum like this is gonna make you feel better, then so be it. Actually, all that this right now is doing is pissin' me off. You should go an' do something' productive, bro. Go beat up some punks, drown yer sorrows in a bar, get a hooker, I don't give a shit." He sighed.

"Jes'… jes' don't pretend to yerself that you can ferget about this, push all the icky feelings away, crawl into a little hole and roll around in yer misery."

Leo didn't say anything.

Raph rolled his eyes. "Fine, Ms. Prissy-pants. I'll leave you to angst and do whatever it is that you need do to blow off some steam. Hope it helps you clear your head." He looked at his older brother long and hard. "An' if you don't go back to him, Leo, so help me God, I WILL find you, and I'll MAKE you go back, you understand?"

Leo barely twitched. Raph exhaled loudly, then laughed mirthlessly. "Jesus, total role reversal, here, huh? I'm usually the one given an ultimatum, eh?" He stretched, bones popping, and then started walking casually toward the edge of the building.

"Well, someone had to act like a prick." Leonardo said suddenly.

Raph whirled around. "Excuse me?"

Leo shrugged. "The role reversal thing. If you're being the enforcer now, someone had to be the prick who the enforcer… enforced. Great to find that really everything has been turned on its head, huh?"

Raph snorted. "Nothing's changed. You acted like a prick before he told us. I'm no more enforcer then you can cook."

"No, Raph, EVERYTHING has changed! You're being Splinter's toady, following _orders_ and coming to get the 'rogue' turtle! Why can't you see that?"

Raph shook his head, then walked back toward Leo. "Leo. I'm not, and never will be a toady to _anyone_. You should know that, of all people. I do this outta' respect fer the guy that raised me. I got honor too, ya know. And no, nothin' has changed except that you're throwin' a rather spectacular hissy-fit."

"But-"

"Leo, I want you t' look at me for just a second, okay?"

Leo eyed him suspiciously. "What for?"

"I just thought of a good metaphor." Raph grunted. "Now, look at me and tell me what y' see."

Leo paused. "A giant turtle with a dirty red bandana tied around his head."

"And how am I related to you?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Is this going somewhere?"

"Yeah," Snarled Raph. "Now answer th' damn question."

"You're my brother. Though apparently not by blood anymore…"

Raph shook him. "Yeah. _Your broutha'._ That hasn't changed, has it? I'm still Raphael, out t' challenge your authority every chance I get. Mikey's still a clown, Don's still a brain, and Splinter is **still** our father. It don't matter that we're not genetically related, it don't matter that Splinter had to … kill our moms so that we could live, or that he didn't tell us about it 'til now. We are, and always WILL BE family, no matter how much you angst and whimper and deny it."

"But… he lied… to US!"

Raph snorted. "You mean, 'he lied to Leo,' right? That's the kicker that's eatin' you up inside, ain't it. Listen, Leo, there's bound to be stuff that he's not gonna' tell us. I've come to terms with it, 'cause it's a parent's right. Hell, it's a personal right. I mean, look at me! I lie to you all the time and you're not broken up about it, are ya?"

Leo glared at him. "That's not the same, and you know it."

Raph glared right back. "Fuck yeah, I know it. I also know that right now, he's cursing every day that he didn't tell us. Leo, he's utterly distraught. If you leave him now, if ANY of us leave him now, _he. Will. Die_." Raph grabbed both of Leo's arms and shook him. "Do you understand? He loves us, all god-forsaken four of us so much that if you continue to deny him, t-to _reject_ him like this, he is going to curl up in a little fur covered ball and he's going to fuckin' _die_. He deserves more then that, and somewhere in that thick head of yours, you know it."

Leo stared at the ground. Raph kept his hold on Leo's arms for a moment more, then roughly pushed his brother away. "Fuck this." He stalked over to the edge of the rooftop. He reached the fire escape ladder and opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and jumped over the edge to land with barely a clatter of metal. _ I need a drink._

Then Leo was left alone with his thoughts and the sounds of the New York night.

* * *

It was a little after eleven o'clock when April set the kettle on the stove and sat down at her kitchen table with a sigh. She hadn't heard from the turtles in almost two days, which meant the news was probably less then sunshiny. 

She rested her head on her hands as the kettle merrily bubbled away. _God, I hope they're all right. _ Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the window.

She whipped her head up to see Donatello wave at her wearily. "_Finally_." she muttered to herself as she ran to let him in.

"What's up?" She asked anxiously as he crawled into the room. Donatello was followed by a shell-shocked (A/N Bad pun, sorry!) Michaelangelo.

"Would you mind if we stayed here tonight?" Donatello asked. They both looked emotionally torn to shreds.

She frowned. That was definitely not a good sign. "Of course, you guys are always welcome here." She looked warily at Mikey, who was weaving back and forth on his feet and looked as if he was going to fall over at any moment. "Here, Mikey, you look exhausted. Come on, we'll get you set up on the couch." He nodded sleepily and went into the living room without a word. April mouthed 'Wait here' to Donatello before leaving the room.

A few minutes later, she reappeared. "Alright, what in the world happened down there?"

The kettle started to shriek, and she rushed to take it off the heat before it disturbed Mikey in the next room. "D' you want any?"

"What? Oh, no, no thank you." Donatello took off his mask and rubbed his eyes.

April sat down across from him, steaming mug in her hands. "So… what did you learn?"

Don let out his breath in a long sigh. "Well… it's complicated and long, but here goes…" Then, in halting, emotionally detached tones, he told her the entire story.

When he finished, April had a horrified look upon her face. "Oh my god… Well, that clears up a lot of stuff. But where are Raph and Leo? I would have thought that after hearing something like that, you four would stick together…"

Don sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea. All I know is that after Splinter finished telling us, Leo started yelling about how we couldn't trust him, and ran out. Raph went after him, and then we left." H shook his head. "It hit us all differently. I don't think Mikey really understood what had happened until we were out of the sewers. He just got so quiet…" Don trailed off, tracing imaginary patterns on the tabletop.

"And how are you taking all of this?" Don raised his head and met April's eyes. His eyes were like molten pools of pain, and April shivered at the intensity of his emotion.

"For the first time in my life, I…I don't understand everything, and I can't for the life of me figure out how I _could_ understand it! I'm…" He broke eye contact and stared at the table again, tears forming in his eyes even as he tried to hold them back. "I don't… Oh, God, April, I don't know what to do…" Tears started to run freely down is cheeks. April, tea forgotten, moved her chair next to his and took him in her arms as he broke down.

She made reassuring noises as buried his face in her shoulder and snaked his arms tightly around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Oh Donny… You don't deserve this… I'm sorry…" She whispered, running her hands comfortingly over his shell.

The clock over her sink struck twelve.

* * *

"…_And that marks the end of the opening game for the Yankees, 3-2 against the Red Socks. Well Bill, what d'ya think, is this a good sign for the rest of the season?"_

The television set blared over the emptiness of the barroom. Raph sat in a corner booth brooding with a bottle of Jack Daniels. He downed a shot, grimaced at the taste, then poured another one. The numbness that it brought balanced out any bad taste that it had.

"Yo, buddy," The bartender suddenly called out. "We're closin'."

"All righ', all righ', keep yer shirt on…" Raph finished off his last shot, dug in his trench coat pocket for some cash, then threw the bills on the table and walked only a little unsteadily out.

The neon sign for the bar flickered in and out of existence, giving the alleyway eerie lighting. Raph kicked a can, then thrust his hands deep into his pockets. The night was still young, and there were plenty of wanna-be criminals who were just waiting to meet the business end of Raphael's fists. And he couldn't wait to introduce them.

You see, Raph liked black and white situations- mugger takes purse from little old lady, Raphael knocks mugger out, returns purse, the end. The whole process required little thought. _This_ situation, on the other hand, was as grey as they came… and it wasn't looking to be getting any easier.

He sighed. Yes, the night was aging quickly. If he wanted to find any peace that night, then he needed to start looking for criminals to punish. He hunched his shoulders and melted into the chilly autumn night that can only be found in New York.

* * *

April blankly stared at her bedroom ceiling. It was two in the morning, and she had been trying to sleep for an hour. Her mind, however, was racing at a thousand miles an hour, trying to comprehend the amazing story that Donatello had told her. _They don't deserve this kind of heartache…_

A light knock at her bedroom door caused her to sit up, covers clutched to her chest. "Donatello?"

He poked his head around her door. "April… I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"Uh, no, no you didn't. Donny, what's the matter?"

He started fidgeting. "We can't sleep."

April frowned in sympathy. "'We?' Mikey's awake too?"

"Yeah."

April sighed. "Yeah, I'm having trouble too. You two try counting sheep?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"But what? What do you need?"

He continued to fidget in the doorway as April watched him. Suddenly she heard an exasperated sigh and Mikey pushed his way in front of his brother. "Jeze Don, you're really doing a bad job of this. April, what my dear brother was _trying to _ask you- Can we sleep with you?"

April stared at Michaelangelo. "What?"

He continued quickly. "Nonono, not like _that_. We're not propositioning you or anything, just sleeping, I promise. Y' see, when we were kids, we only had a one space heater to heat the whole lair, and so we all kinda' slept in one big pile to keep warm, and it's been like a comfort thing for all of us since then, and me and Donny tried it already and we didn't fit on either of the couches, so could we maybe possibly sleep on your bed with you and at least TRY to get some sleep tonight?" He finished his speech in one breath.

April eyed the both of them, Mikey still looking exhausted but hopeful, and Donatello looking mortified beyond all belief. Yet he, too, was anxiously awaiting her response.

April thought for a few moments. _Well, April, you can do one of two things. Tell them 'no' and send them back to the couch in their time of need, or let your _friends _share a bed with you. Well, you ARE wearing the most conservative pair of PJ's that you own… So it's not like they're going to get a peep show! And besides, it doesn't look like you're going to be getting any sleep tonight anyway… What's the harm?  
_

She flipped the bedcovers up and smiled comfortingly at the two turtles. "Well, what are you two waiting for?" Mikey grinned and flopped under the covers, snuggling into one of her pillows and squirming around to get comfortable.

"Mmm. Remind me to ask for what kind of mattress this is in the morning… I definitely want one." She laughed quietly at his antics.

Donatello discreetly slipped onto the other side of the bed. He paused before putting his mouth close to her ear. "I know you didn't have to do this… but thank you. Mikey needed this a lot more then he let on."

She nodded in response, then moved into the center of the bed to give Donatello more breathing room before finally pulling the covers up and over her head.

"Good night, guys." She said quietly.

She received no answer, as they both were asleep, subconsciously moving closer to her for warmth and comfort. She quickly relaxed, listening to their deep breathing and soon, she too was asleep.

They were the only ones who found peace that night.

* * *

_WELL! That chapter took far too long to write. I just couldn't get the conversation between Raph and Leo right. Finally I deleted half of it, and then everything fit. Hope it didn't seem TOO dragged out… And the whole bed thing with April was totally unplanned and written in last minute. I thought it was cute. Besides, it was yet another opportunity for me to sneak in a bit of April/Don Mush… Well, it WILL be April/Don mush, next chapter._

_And I'm going to be going on vacation for the next week, so this will be my last post for a while. _

_Thanks for reading!_

_(And yes, Reinbeauchaser, I fixed the things you said I needed to fix! Coffee was an amazing invention...)  
_

Shout Outs:

**Pacphys-** I'm honored that that chapter evoked such a powerful response from you! (Four wows- COOL!) Grins Hope this one was satisfactory as well!

**The REAL Cheese Monkey**- Yeah, I'd mark that down as a cause of death that I DON'T want to have! Lol!

**Dierdre**- LOL! I was giggling throughout your entire review. I loved hearing the different comments you had for each chapter- thanks so much for leaving the review! And there is at least one more chapter after this, so you still have SOMETHING to look forward too… lol!

**Sassy** - ! I made SASSY say 'Whoa…' I loved all the reactions that I got from people- It's so cool to know that I can make someone be so blown away that they write something like 'whoa' or 'wow'. Basks in readers' adoration lol!

**Lunar-Ninja**- Another 'wow'! dances happily When I finished that chapter, I knew it was big… but I was amazed at everyone's reactions… Thanks for reviewing!

**Melodist**- Hopefully this chapter was satisfactory! Thanks for the favs add! Also, I half can't wait, slash half dread the next chapter of Misadventures. I don't want it to end, but I also can't wait to find out more… I swear, I'm addicted!

**FF Demon-Angel-** Thanks for the review; this one is also kinda long… Yeah, I just checked, it IS longer then the last chapter. Go figure. lol, hope you liked it!

**Buslady of SoCal**- Glad you like this story so much! (I think I like it too… : P)

**Chibi Rose Angel-** Thanks for dropping by! Blushes Such high praise! Thank you!

**Sunel**- Well, I got kinda lazy this week… (The last chap. took a lot out of me!) Hope this chapter was okay!

**Mister Fooch**- Hey, I was wondering what had happened to you! Glad you're back, and I'm also glad that you are enjoying the story!

**Tbreader­- **WOAH ! Well, that excuses you from pretty much everything, for sure! Thanks for taking the time to review, and good luck!

* * *

Don't forget to make my day and leave a review before you go!

: D


	8. Good Morning!

**Disclaimer: I don't know much about Karai, other then what I've seen from the few episodes of the new show that I've been able to catch. So I apologize for any discrepancies in her character, and if this beginning it totally unbelievable.**

**A bit more mature material in this chapter- Nothing too graphic, of course. (See last chapter's disclaimer.)**

**Casey fans may be upset with me at the end of this chapter. **

**And as before, I only own the plot, everything else belongs to Mirage Studios, Eastman and Laird… Etc…

* * *

**

The light of the full moon made the city glow with an eerie, ethereal radiance.

In the tall and imposing building of the Foot Clan, everything was silent. Security cameras surveyed the hallways, but failed to take notice of a moving shadow that was making it's way slowly up the stairways of the tall building. In her penthouse suite, Karai turned over in her bed and sighed in her sleep, her hand lightly brushing the handle of the _katana _she always slept with.

She didn't hear her door open, greased to silence by a trained hand. Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.

"Hello, Karai."

The raven-haired ninja instantly awoke, rolled off of the bed and unsheathed her katana in the same motion. Holding the sword in a defense position in front of her, she clutched a sheet to her chest and scanned the room frantically. One of her balcony windows was open, and a slight breeze was causing the thin silk curtains to billow and ripple.

"Who is there? Show yourself!" Her head snapped to the left as she sensed movement, and her hand snaked out to detach a _shuriken_ from her headboard and throw it quicker then thinking. With a few sparks and a metallic clang, the _shuriken_ was deflected, and Leonardo stepped out of the shadows, sheathing his _katana_.

Karai visibly relaxed and lowered her _katana_. "Leonardo-san. What brings you here in the middle of the night?"

He did not say a word, and walked closer to her bed. She waited patiently as he approached.

He reached the foot of her bed and did not move further. "Leonardo-san?" She wrapped the sheet more firmly around her body and carefully crawled across the expanse of her bed to get closer to the stone-faced turtle.

His mouth moved, and he softly spoke. "I need…"

Karai frowned. "What? Leonardo-san…"

He leaned down and kissed her roughly. After her initial surprise, she melted into his kiss, and slowly put her arms around his neck.

He suddenly broke the kiss and looked fiercely into her eyes. "I need to forget, even for a little while." He whispered. She gazed into his eyes and saw a conflicted, confused soul. _Oh, Leonardo-san…_ She nodded her assent, and he emotionally captured her mouth again and pushed her back onto the bedcovers.

The curtains billowed in the breeze, and no one heard their passionate cries, muffled by the sounds of the New York night.

* * *

It was past dawn when the phone rang, echoing in April's quiet apartment. 

April groaned and turned over to reach for the phone at the side of her bed, only to find herself unable to turn over. Donatello's arm was locked around her midsection in a near death grip. He was holding her snuggly against his plastron, his face buried in her hair. Michaelangelo was spread-eagled across the rest of her bed, snoring lightly.

She squeaked in surprise. _Okay… Not exactly the way I thought I was going to wake up this morning… Just don't panic, and everything will be just… _

She tried to gently extract herself from Don's grasp, but he only murmured something unintelligible and held on to her tighter. She sighed in exasperation. Suddenly she heard a sort of deep rumbling noise in the air, and with a jolt realized that it was coming from Don. _Is that… No, it couldn't be… He can PURR?_

The phone rang again.

She turned her head toward his and whispered, "Don? Sweetie, I have to go answer the phone…" The phone rang as if to back up her claim, then the answering machine clicked on.

"Hey, April, it's Casey." Don stopped purring as the voice of Casey Jones filtered through the air. "Listen, I know that it's awful early and all, but I, uh, I got Raph over here, and uh, he's kinda plastered." A crash echoed in the background. "Aw, shit!" Casey hung up the phone.

April wasn't sure whether to be comforted or worried.

"Rmmph…" Donatello was slowly waking up. "A'pril?"

She twisted in his loosening grasp so she was somewhat face-to-face with the unmasked turtle. "Good morning, Donatello." She said in a pleasant, patient voice. _Nothing will come of me yelling at him for hugging me in his sleep. It was an accident. _"Sleep well?" He blinked at her, his sleep fogged brain still not comprehending where he was. Suddenly, his eyes bugged out and he completely let go of her, pushing himself away from her and off of the bed in his haste. He landed with a loud thud out of April's view.

"Donny? Donatello? Are you okay?" She sat up and peered over the edge of the bed. Donatello jumped up, sputtering.

"I, uh, yeah, um… yeah. Sorry about…" He gestured vaguely in the direction of the bed. April looked at him and noted that his cheeks were tinged several shades darker then normal. Her brow furrowed.

"Don, are you sure you're okay?"

"What? Oh. Yes. Uh, I'm good. Fine. Swell, even. I'm just gonna go, and uh… go." He staggered upright and left the room. April heard him banging into things as he made his way down the hall. _I guess he isn't a morning person._

"Whash goin' on?" April turned around to see a sleepy-eyed Michaelangelo blinking owlishly in the early morning light.

She winced as she heard pots and pans banging in her kitchen. "I think that Don is trying to make breakfast."

"Oh, okay…" Mikey plopped back onto the pillows. April quietly waited for the news to sink in. She didn't have to wait long. In mere seconds Mikey sat bolt upright. "WHAT!"

She started giggling uncontrollably as he tried to disentangle himself from the sheets, desperately calling out to his brother. "NO DONNY! DON'T DO IT! THE FOOD DOESN'T DESERVE WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING! WAIT FOR ME!"

Finally free of the sheets, he sprinted out of the room, not even stopping to retrieve his mask, pads, or weapons.

Listening to the sounds of their exchange in the kitchen, she slowly stopped giggling and frowned thoughtfully. Waking up like that… felt… _right._

She shivered and hugged her knees tight to her chest. _No. He was merely looking for comfort after a traumatic experience, nothing more. It doesn't mean anything._

_Then why do I wish it did?

* * *

_

April joined the turtles a few moments later, having exchanged her old flannel pajamas for jeans and a tee-shirt.

Donatello, who had retrieved his mask and pads, was fidgeting sullenly at the kitchen counter, spattered with flour, while Mikey, oblivious to the tension in the air, was cheerfully mixing pancake batter and cooking eggs.

"Hey! Hope you like your eggs sunny side up!"

She smiled at him and opened the refrigerator door. "Thanks Mikey. That'd be great."

She poured herself a glass of orange and joined Donatello at the counter. Neither said a word. After a moment, he opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the phone ringing.

She gave him a rueful grin. "The phone beat you again, huh?"

He gave her a disbelieving look. _Is she… could she… is she _teasing_ me? _

"I bet it's Casey again- he called a little while ago. I think he has Raph ."

April left the counter and made her way to the phone, but she was too slow and the answering machine picked up before she did.

Casey's voice exploded over the speaker. "April! April, look, I know you're there, pick up the phone. Goddamnit, where the hell IS everyone? I can't reach anyone at the lair, you're not pickin' up and Raph is passed out on the goddamn couch an' I don't know the fuck why! What the hell is goin' on!" He sounded panicked, which was a rare emotion in the world of Casey Jones.

April picked up the phone hastily. "Casey, what's the matter?" The answering machine continued to record, and the turtles could hear both sides of the conversation.

"April? Finally! Where th' hell have you been!"

She glanced at the clock. "Casey, it's barely seven. I was sleeping."

"Well you should have woken up when I _called_!" April raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips.

"Ca-sey… you're crossing the line between adult and whining 9-year-old again…" She said in a singsong voice. Mikey stuffed a pancake in his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Casey stayed silent for another moment before answering in a somewhat sarcastic and tired voice. "Sorry Ape. It's just that… whatever made Raph wanna' go out and get so shit-faced that he couldn't tell up from down makes ME kinda' on edge too, ya know?"

THAT comment made Mikey stop laughing. Both he and Donatello raced over to April and the phone.

"My God… Is he okay?" Said April, a worried expression on her face.

Casey blew out his breath. "Well, he's passed out on the couch right now, an' snoring t' raise the dead. He'll probably be fine, but this is AFTER he trashed my new goddamned TV, flailing about and ranting about secrets and lies and who th' hell knows what else!"

Mikey and Don looked worried. "Does he know, do you think?" asked Mikey.

"If he doesn't, I don't want to tell him. Odds are that if Raph was that drunk, he was probably slurring his words. I hope. I don't wanna have to explain what happened again…" Said Don.

April nodded sympathetically.

"Hey, who's that? Who's there with you?" Casey said accusingly.

April raised both eyebrows. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say he sounded… jealous? _"It's just Don and Mikey. They spent the night."

Casey didn't say a word.

"Casey?" April frowned. "Casey? You still there?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here." He paused. "Why the hell are they there?" Mikey looked at Don and mouthed, 'Uh-oh.' Don nodded, his brow creased. April looked at them both wide eyed, frantically trying to think of an answer.

"April?"

_Truth?_ She mouthed. Both turtles shook their heads. _Great._ She thought.

"They, uh, just needed a place to stay for the night."

"And they just automatically ran fer your place? I don't think that it's exactly a good idea that they're doin' that, April."

She scowled. "And Raph staying at _your_ place is any different?"

"Well, _yeah_." Casey said. "I'm a _guy_, for one thing, and I can take whatever Raph could throw at me." She could practically feel the testosterone leaking out of his voice.

"They're not going to _attack_ me! Jesus, you make it sound like they're animals! "

Casey lowered his voice and hissed furiously into the phone. "April, they _are_ animals!"

April's eyes widened in shock and outrage. She quickly hit the stop button on the answering machine and the tape wound to a stop, but the damage had been done.

Donatello had a murderous expression on his face, and Mikey's mouth was gaping open in shock. After a moment of tense silence, Donatello walked stiff legged out of the room, quivering with rage.

Mikey shook his head to clear it and went after him, giving April a worried look before leaving the room.

Distractions gone, she returned to the phone conversation, fire in her eyes. She took a deep breath before tearing into the man on the other end of the phone line.

"_How dare you!_ I can't _fucking_ believe you! You're supposed to be their _friend_!"

"I am their friend!" Said Casey angrily. "Not just everyone would let Raph pass out on their couch, y' know."

"That's _not the damn point, Casey_!"

"Y' can't change what they _are_, April- They're animals, and _nothin_' you can say or do will fuckin' change that! You trust them too goddamned much! I'm just... I'm just tryin' t' look out fer you, that's all."

"Well do me a favor and **stop doing it**!" With that parting shot, April violently slammed the phone down. She then leaned against the wall, catching her breath. _Just when things couldn't get any more complicated..._

* * *

She heard a murmur of conversation in the kitchen, but it came to a sudden end as she appeared in the doorway. Donatello was pacing the kitchen floor and Michaelanglo was sitting at the kitchen table, poking at the remnants of his breakfast. 

She pulled up a chair and sat down, exhausted. She put her arms on the table, then rested her head on them. After a moment, she spoke. "I… I don't think of you guys as animals."

Don and Mikey stared at her.

She raised her head and looked back. "I don't. I just wanted you to know." She sighed.

The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock.

Finally, Michaelangelo spoke. "We knew that already. But thanks for telling us anyway."

She smiled weakly at him.

He smiled back, then got up to dump his dishes in the sink. "So, what's the plan now?"

Don stopped pacing. "We're going to go and get Raph back, then we're going to find Leo and go back to Splinter."

Mikey paused at the sink. "Oh, is THAT all?"

"Casey wouldn't do anything to Raph. He may think… less of him then he should, but I don't think that he would ever intentionally hurt him. At least wait until nightfall before you go all gung ho about this, Donny." Said April.

A muscle in Don's jaw twitched. "And just what do you want us to do in the meantime? It won't get dark for another 15 hours!"

"Movie-Marathon!"

Both April and Don turned their heads and _stared_ at the Mikey, who was tying his mask on.

"What?" They said simultaneously.

"A movie marathon!" He insisted eagerly. "Come on, it will be fun! Besides, there's a lot of movies that I wanna see! Ape can go out and get them, then we can just stay here and eat pizza and watch movies! It will take our minds off everything for a little while, and it's a good way to kill time! Pul-leeeease!" He pouted and clasped his three-fingered hands in front of him, playfully begging.

Don and April shared a look, then burst into laughter, the tension in the room fading away.

"Alright Mikey, you win. I needed a day off anyway…" Mikey whooped and pumped his fist in the air.

"Yesss!" He then proceeded to waste no time in starting a list of things for April to procure. "We're gonna need 4, no, 5 movies… popcorn, Mike an' Ikes, Twizzlers… And _**chocolate**!_"

"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this decision later?" Said April dryly.

"Of course you won't!" Said Mikey cheerfully. "We're gonna have fun! And the sooner you leave, the sooner you come back, and the sooner we can truly party!" He started ushering her towards the door.

"Do I get to take my coat and purse! Slow down, Mikey!"

Don appeared at her side as they reached the doorway, purse and coat in hand and gave her a small smile. "Y' know, I've always wanted to see _Gattaca_."

"Get _Gattaca_, got it." She laughed as two sets of hands eagerly pushed her out of the apartment. "Don't wreck my apartment while I'm gone!" she said warningly.

"Don't worry, we'll be careful!" The door slammed in her face, and she could faintly hear the sound of the turtles giving each other high fives.

She laughed again, then made her way to the elevator. Yes, this would be an interesting day indeed.

* * *

_Well, this WAS going to be the last chapter, but it was getting long, and I didn't want to torture you guys too much. I swear, it has a mind of it's own! So, one more chapter, for real this time. _

_But don't quote me or anything._

_And about Don purring... I remember reading about one the of the turtles purring in another fic, and I loved the idea. (CUTENESS!) Of course, I have no idea who's fic it was, 'cause I have a horrible memory... But if the whole purring idea was YOUR idea, I'm very sorry for stealing it. It was a good detail. Does anyone know if turtles CAN really purr? LOL!_

_ And I saw Gattaca in bio class this pas year. I thought it was an interesting, slightly creepy and depressing movie. If you have a couple of hourse to kill, definitely go check it out!  
_

_

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_

_Shout outs-_

**Reinbeauchaser**: Thanks for the history lesson. : P It was very… informative. I must admit that I spent a whole five minutes doing research for the chapter in the first place… so I suppose I deserved it. LOL! And as for your second review… I think my ego grew about three times it's normal size with all that praise you gave: D Thanks so much! And I fixed the typo that you found. : P Thanks again, hope you enjoyed the chapter!

**Pacphys**: More praise! YAY! I'm so blessed to have readers like you guys… and it's doing absolute wonders for my self esteem! Hehe… I loved writing the Don/April/Mike scene. They kinda reminded me of lost puppies… Sigh… Slightly less furry, though.

**Sunel**: Well, it wasn't _exactly_ updated right after I got back, I must admit that I got a bit sidetracked with another fic… It was a lot harder then I thought to write several fics simultaneously. LOL!

**Lunar-Ninja**- LOVED your line about the sheep. I'm still giggling!

**FF Demon-Angel**: Was this Don/April mush satisfactory?

**The REAL Cheese Monkey**: Thanks for leaving a review! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!

**Loolaa**- Thanks for leaving a review here too! You rock!

**ShadowFlame611**- Hehe… I completely forgot about that message of Mikey's… Wow, I need to get organized better. Great how it fit in anyway, huh? Thanks for reviewing!

**Dierdre**: Well, better late then never, as I always say. And your reviews are always, always, ALWAYS fun to read, so it doesn't matter if they're late or not! I'm so touched that this fic has struck a chord with so many people… (I really liked the last chapter too!)

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_As always, don't forget to make my day and leave a review!_


	9. Hangovers and Little Red Dots

_DISCLAIMER : Turtles ain't mine, and will continue not to be unless I win the lottery and buy them. (Starts frantically buying lottery tickets)_

_I am tremendously sorry about the long wait for this chapter-I mean, a little less then a month is too long to wait. But between my internet going kaput and thw whole writer's block thing... it's been a long three weeks. lol!  
_

_And here's an explanation of Casey's behavior last chapter-_

_He views the turtles as being the equivalent of particularly intelligent dogs. He's fond of them, of course, but he doesn't see them as his equals.(Except in fighting, of course, and even then he's rather bigheaded about it.) He's disturbed at the thought that April being THAT close (His imagination was running away with him just a tad) to one or more of them._

_Finally, I wanna thank Dierdre for giving me some much needed advice about ending this story! She rocks!_

_And now, on to the chapter! _

* * *

_Dawn…_

Karai awoke to the faint whisper of steel. She sat up and watched as Leonardo carefully inspected, then re-sheathed his _katanas_.

"Must you leave so soon?" Her words echoed in silence of the early dawn.

He finished tying the swords to his shell and took a deep breath. "I have things that I have to do."

She gracefully emerged from the bedcovers and grabbed a sheer bathrobe before she walked the short distance to Leonardo's side. She put her arms around his neck and touched her forehead to his.

"I do not know of this trial that you are going though, and I think that we both know that I could not and cannot help you." She whispered quietly. "I wish you luck, Leonardo-san. I can only hope that will be enough."

Leonardo looked searchingly into her eyes, then kissed her tenderly. "Thank you, Karai. Someday…"

She put a finger on his lips. "Here and now is not the time to be discussing someday, Leonardo-san. If you wait any longer, the sun will reveal what the moon hides, and even you will have trouble leaving here undetected."

Leo kissed her again, then strode to the window and jumped out of it, swiftly making his way down the outside of the building. Karai made her way onto her balcony, watching as the sun slowly illuminated the city, turning the once dull towers of glass and concrete into a brilliant world of light.

* * *

_Dusk…_

Raph grumbled and moved in his sleep.Suddenly he felt an arm on his shoulder. He grabbed the hand by sheer reflex, but was unable to remember exactly how to leverage it away from him through a skull-spitting headache. He moaned in pain, clutching his head.

"Hey, Raph, it's 'bout time you woke up. You were snorin' t' raise the dead…"

Raph blearily opened his eyes and grimaced at the light that seared his eyeballs. He threw an arm up to shield his eyes and groaned. "Wha… Where th' hell am I…"

Casey spoke again. "Yore at my pad. Drink this." He thrust a tall glass into Raph's hand.

Raph struggled into an upright position. He squinted around the room again. "Jesus, kin y' turn off the light?"

Casey gave him a puzzled look. "What are you talkin' about? The only light in here is the damn lava lamp in the corner."

"It's still too damn bright…" Mumbled Raph stubbornly, closing his eyes and trying to ignore his pounding head. He then sniffed at the drink of an indescribable color that he held in his hand. "What th' fuck is this supposed to be?"

Casey swelled with pride. "That, my little green friend, is one serving of Casey Jones's Deluxe Hangover Cure. For the most severe hangovers only. I figured that you'd need it, after last night."

Raph continued to eye the concoction suspiciously. "You sure this is gonna work? Looks kinda bad t' me."

"Yeah. It works. Just don't ask what's in it."

Raph screwed his face up, then chugged the entire glass. "BLEAUGH!" Raph's eyes buldged, and he ran for the kitchen sink, where he stuck his head under the stream of water and gulped for all he was worth. He finished by washing his mouth out with half a bottle of beer. Then he turned, fire and rage in his eyes to confront Casey. "WHAT THE **_HELL_** WAS IN THAT!"

Casey leaned in the doorway, watching Raph with amusement painted on his face, and started counting off the ingredients on his fingers. "Tabasco sauce, jalapeno pepper juice, an egg, tomato juice, pepper, salt, ketchup, orange juice, cumin powder, carrot juice, a splash of lemon, and some onion juice."

Raph stared at him, his face a mask of horror and disgust. "And you let me DRINK THAT!"

Casey shrugged. "I told ya not t' ask. But think of it as payback for breakin' my new TV." He moved out of the doorway so that Raph could see the large-screen television, complete with a _sai_ sticking out of the middle of it. "An' besides, you're not hung-over anymore, are you?"

Raph paused. His headache was gone. Hallelujah. "…No. Guess not. Ah, sorry about that…" He gestured at the thoroughly dead television set.

Casey grinned evilly. "Well, let's just say that you're gonna owe me till the end o' time. 'Tween th' TV an' that cure you just chugged down..." He shrugged. "It's guaranteed, a heavily guarded and secret recipe, y' see. Don't just make it fer anyone."

"You are one lucky bastard, Jones. If I was still hungover…" Said Raph.

"Yeah, yeah, my ass would be grass, I know, I know…" Casey walked back into the living room and flopped onto a couch. "So, y' gonna tell me why you were so tanked last night?" He called. "I mean, I've seen people drunk _bad _b'fore, but th' state you were in last night… I swear y' made it into an art form."

Raph followed Casey's example and flopped across the aged _Lazyboy_ in front of the remnants of the television. "No, I'm not gonna tell you. An' I wasn't _that_ drunk."

Casey propped his head up on one hand. "Dude, if you weren't _that_ drunk, then why did y' sleep for 15 hours straight?"

"What!" Raph jumped up. "No way did I sleep for that long!"

Casey looked up at him. "Yeah. Y'did. Y' showed up here at 7 this mornin', an' it's ten at night now."

"You're shittin' me." Raph said, disbelievingly.

"Nope."

"Aw, hell…" Raph sank down into the chair again. "That's not cool…"

Casey sat up and leaned toward Raphael. "Listen, Raph, what's goin' on? It's not like you to get tanked…"

"Yeah it is." Grunted Raph.

"Okay, yeah, but I've never seen y' THAT tanked before. What set y' off?"

Raph sighed. "I… I don't wanna talk about it. Not right now…"

Casey eyed him suspiciously. "C'mon Raph, it can't be THAT bad, can it? Leo get on your case again?"

"I said I don't wanna talk about it! Alright?" Raph said angrily.

Casey held his hands up. "Alright, alright, I surrender. Jesh. Ya ask a guy a question… Don't know why I put up with it…"

A knock came at the window.

"Who th' hell izzat?" Casey said.

Raph gave Casey an exasperated look. "Case, who d'ya know that'd knock on your winda' instead'a knockin' at ten at night?"

Casey rolled off of the sofa with a grunt and approached the window. He opened it to find Michaelangelo and Donatello standing on the fire escape, stone faced.

"Hey, what are youse guys doin' here?" He asked.

"Checking on Raph." Said Donatello, one hand resting on the strap of a duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

"Get bored stayin' at Ape's?" Casey said, leering at them.

"Look, Casey, we don't want any trouble. We're just here to get Raph." Said Donatello calmly.

Raph had gotten up from the couch and was standing behind Casey, a slightly confused expression on his face.

"Guys… what's goin' on?"

"Raph, c'mon, we need your help to go and find that _thing_." Mikey said emphatically, speaking over Casey's shoulder. "You know, that thing that isn't here… that has seemed to have disappeared… _that we haven't seen since yesterday… _"

Raph's eyes widened. _Aw shit, Leo hasn't showed up yet? _"Yeah… yeah. Okay, I'll just get my other _sai_, gimme a sec." He walked back into the living room to pull the metal weapon from the remnants of the television set. Casey stood like a stone pillar, a muscle pulsating furiously in his jaw.

"Thanks fer the save, Case. I'll talk t' ya later." He was half out of the window when Casey caught a hold of his arm.

"Raph, _what's_ _goin' on?_ I can't believe that you're keepin' me in the dark like this!"

Raph met the off-duty vigilante's gaze. "Casey, I told ya'- I don't wanna get into it right now. _Back off_."

"If youse guys can tell April, y' kin tell me!" Casey snarled. Raph raised an eyebrow questioningly at his brothers, and Mikey pointed to Don.

"He did it."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Great. More people to get involved in this melodrama." He crawled out of the window, ignoring Casey's sputtered indignation and joining his brothers on the fire escape. "C'mon, we need t' figure out how to find… I mean, uh… aw, fuck this damn code language…"

Mikey grinned and leaped onto the metal railing of the fire escape, then climbed like a monkey up and out of sight, Raphael only a moment behind.

Don waited a moment, then turned to a red-faced Casey, who was shaking with anger at being ignored and pushed aside so flippantly.

"Hey Casey," He called.

"What!" Casey replied, angrily.

Don stalked closer to Casey and the open window. "If you _ever_ talk to April in a tone like the one you used this morning again…" He spun his _bo_ threateningly.

Casey bared his teeth in an almost feral grin. "Are you threatenin' me, Donny-boy?"

Donatello gave him a dark, chilling look. "It's amazing what us _animals_ will do when you threaten something they care about, Casey." With that parting shot, he turned around and scaled the fire escape, leaving a thoroughly stunned Casey Jones behind him.

* * *

A moment passed before Casey was able to shake himself out of his stupor, and he slammed the window shut. "Didn't wanna know that bad anyway…"

* * *

_Fifteen minutes later…_

"Come on, Leo, pick up…" The shell cell beeped once, then an automated voice recording intoned, "...We're sorry, your call was not able to go through. Please hang up and try agai-"

"Dangit!" Michaelangelo closed the phone and stuffed it into his belt. "He's not answering." The turtles had come to rest on a roof top about 3 miles from Casey's apartment and were not having any luck reaching their MIA brother.

"What did you say to him, anyway?" Asked Donatello. Raph sighed in frustration.

"I told you, I just told him the truth,'s all. He needed someone t' give him a reality check, and so I gave it to him."

Don rolled his eyes, as Michaelangelo dialed Leo's number again. "Then what would make him run off like this?"

"I don't think that he was really prepared for the fact that Splinter wasn't always five-by-five wit us." Raph said.

"I don't think that any of us were." Donatello said quietly.

In the background, Michaelangelo swore and savagely clicked the shell cell shut. "He's STILL not answering, guys."

"Great." Raph paused for a moment, thinking. "Well, I left 'im near Central Park last night, maybe we should go back and try 'track him from there."

"Wait," Interjected Donatello. "I think I can find him with my GPS locator."

"You have a GPS locator?" Said Mike in wonder.

Donatello nodded. "I made it a while ago. And I, uh, put a locator chip in each of our shell cells. As long as he's still in the NYC, and he still has the phone with him, I think I can find him."

"We'll try that, then." Said Raph authoritatively.

Donatello then commenced with digging though his duffel bag, every once in a while grabbing a small piece of machinery and setting it on the ground in front of him. When he had 10 or so of these metal objects set in front of him, he put the bag aside, cracked his knuckles, and started assembling the pieces.

Raphael and Michaelangelo looked at their brother in bewilderment.

"Do y' have any idea what he's doin', Mikey?"

"Nope."

"Me neither."

"It's a lot easier to carry something like a GPS scanner in small parts, rather then lugging around a big hunk of plastic everywhere." Don said over his shoulder. "Just give me five minutes."

An awkward moment passed. Mickey fidgeted, twirling a 'chuck distractedly. Raph started pacing like a caged animal.

"Y' know, what if he doesn't have it on him?" Mike asked.

Raph stopped pacing and looked at Donatello. Don shrugged. "We'll just have to cross that bridge if we come to it."

Raph grunted and started to pace once more.

"Right. I think that this… should… be… it!" With a sharp metallic clink, Don finished assembling the GPS and switched it on. He pressed another switch, and a small projector light switched on, illuminating a small portion of the roof they were standing on. A map of the city appeared, along with four small red dots.

"See, the three of us are right here," Don pointed with a blunt digit at the three red dots clustered around each other. "And Leo… is right… here!" He pointed at another red dot.

Raph leaned over Donatello's shoulder. "Great job Donny! But where's 'here'?"

"That way." Don said with conviction, sitting up and pointing towards the northeast.

"Well, we should get goin' then. If he really does try t' bolt, I wanna be in a position where we ken stop him."

* * *

Five minutes and much roof-hopping later, the three brothers arrived at their destination. Leonardo was sitting on the edge of a rooftop overlooking Central Park, his feet hanging idly over the side of the building. 

When Leonardo didn't say anything, Michaelangelo broke the silence. "Hey Leo. Long time no see!"

Leo didn't turn around.

Mikey plopped down next to his elder brother. "So… where'd you go to get your head back on straight? If it's back on straight, I mean."

Silence.

Mikey ploughed forward anyway. "Well, Me and Don went t' April's and had a movie marathon! Mondo fun dude, you should been there! Uh, anyways, while we were doin' that, Raph was sleepin' off what I guess was a major hangover at Casey's, and then we went to get him cause Casey was shootin' his mouth off an-"

"One of these days that mouth o' yours is gonna get you in trouble, Mikey-boy." Raph growled, putting his little brother in a headlock and effectively stopping the seemingly unending stream of words coming out of the bubbly turtle's mouth.

He let the orange-masked turtle out of the headlock when Leonardo suddenly took a deep breath and stood up.

"Leo?" Raph asked tentatively.

Leonardo took a deep breath and looked around at his brothers for a moment before giving them a small smile. "You guys gonna stand there all night, or are we gonna go home?"

* * *

_Well! I've made myself into a liar- this isn't the last chapter. (Hears various fans cheering) But the real last chapter (Jesh, this is what, the fourth, fifth time I've said that?) will be posted by my sheer will by Saturday at the latest, because I'm going away and it would be cruel to leave y'all hanging like that. :-P_

_Shoutouts! _

**Jigsaws231**- Well, you were right… I didn't wrap it all up in one chapter. :-P Glad you liked it so much! Loved the compliments!

**Buslady of SoCal**- Yeah, I got a lot of anti-Casey comments this time around… Hmm… can't imagine why… lol! But seriously, I do like Casey. At least, I think I do…

**Misterfooch**- Yeah, like I always say... life gets in the way of everything far too often… Still, thanks for taking the time review!

**Sunel**- Thanks for the compliment!

**Pacphys**- Well, I caught the season finale of the new tv show this summer, and I saw this whole sexual tension thing goingon between Leo and Karai, and so when I needed SOMETHING for Leo to do… I just said, 'what the heck, Why not?' lol

**Reinbeauchaser**- I think that I'm gonna take a little break from this little universe for a while… but there are lots and lots of delectable plotbunnies that I could explore… So who knows? Thanks for reviewing!

**Lioness-Goddess**- Well, I doubt very much that we go to the same school, GATTACA is used kinda universally throughout the biology teacher population. And the paralyzed guy dies for sure, but as for the 'hero' of the story… I think they left the end open for a reason…. But yes, I agree with the 'weird' statement. Lol!

**Lil Kimi**- Thanks for much for the compliments! I loved writing those little moments too… (Melts into sentimental pile of mush)

**Lu****nar Ninja**- Death by chainsaw, huh? I think you're the first one to threaten Casey with that…

**Entropy**- Ooh! I wanna copy of that picture once you're done! Lol, thanks for reviewing!

**Chibi Rose Angel**- I think that everyone wants a turtle as cute as Donny… sigh… And I keep hearing about these new episodes where it's obvious that there's something between April and Donny… But I keep missing the darn things! Grr.. Though I think I've seen every one about Mikey and his superhero friends… And I think across the board almost everyone was outraged by Casey. :-P

**Dierdre**- Again, I cannot say thank you enough! I'm glad you liked the Karai scene, and I was giggling throughout your entire review… as always… And thanks for the herpetology lesson:-P

**The REAL Cheese Monkey**- I'm glad that scene made you laugh! I had fun writing it… Oh Donny, how I love to put you in awkward situations…

**Vampy**- Well, it's less of a purr then a really contented rumbling… lol... And yes, your wish is granted… one more chapter!

**Sasamil**- Flattery! (Glomp!) Thanks for reviewing!


	10. Epilogue

Well, this is it. It's taken three months, 10 chapters, and many late nights to finish this fic, and I just want to thank all you readers out there who gave me support and reviews throughout the whole process. It's been a crazy trip! So much for a short 4-chaptered story like I originally thought it was going to be…

Thanks to **Dierdre, Sassyblondexoxo, misterfooch, Reinbeauchaser, pacphys, Melodist, Lunar-ninja, tbreader, sporksareweird, The REAL Cheese Monkey, Isis-Lament, FF Demon-Angel, Shadowflame611, PossDownUnder, engelina, Sunel, Chibi Rose Angel, Buslady of SoCal, Lil Kimi, Lioness Goddess, jigsaws231, Loolaa, Vampy, Cynlee, Entropy,** and **Sasami1**. I couldn't ask for better readers/reviewers/critics!

And so, without further ado, here is the real last chapter of "Scientific Method."

* * *

Splinter leaned his cane against the wall of the dojo and stretched, every muscle in his lithe body tense. He had spent the last hour or two trying to meditate, to clear his mind of the anxiety that was currently residing there. He had failed. Miserably. 

So for the first time in a long time, he turned to violence for his answer. The old punching bag shuddered under his blows, dust billowing off in clouds. Seconds, then minutes passed, and as time wore on his blows became wild and uncontrolled, the strikes of one who has nothing left. With one last kick, the bag split spectacularly, sand and rags spilling out onto the once immaculate floor of the dojo.

Splinter sank to the floor as well, cradling his head in his hands. Silent tears forged trails through his graying fur. _Why… why am I to be punished in this way? _He remained hunched over and utterly distraught for what seemed to him like an age.

Later, long after the candles had burned down and out, he froze as a pair of strong green arms encircled him. He blinked, trying desperately to see through tear-blurred eyes.

"Leo…nardo?" He asked slowly, the hope in his voice heartbreaking to hear. "Is it.. could it be you?"

"_Hai, Sensei._" Leonardo replied quietly, still holding the furry frame of his father in his arms. "It is _all_ of us. We're _home_."

Splinter felt more arms encircle him, and Splinter's face was once again covered in tears, though not all of them his. The turtles, his _sons_ were all weeping, in happiness, in sadness, in sympathy.

"I'm sorry…" whispered Leo, so quietly and grief-stricken that Splinter almost did not hear him.

Splinter lifted a paw and laid it on Leonardo's head. "You are here, my son, all of you, and that is all that matters to me." Leonardo sniffed, then smiled through his tears and nodded.

They were home. And everything was as it should be, once again.

* * *

FIN. 


End file.
